


Blood Pact

by KZDippingSauce (orphan_account), rapono



Series: The GF Saga [1]
Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Bill hints THINGS to Dipper but he's thick-headed like the pine tree he is, Bill is weird, Dipdop is lonely, M/M, Stuff happens, This is an excuse to write BillDip?, cecil voice yes, lots of cameos from other fandoms, mettaton oh yes, seriously though this was fun to make, shipping garbage, shipping garbage happens when two great minds come together, the usual, this is what happens when two great minds come together
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-17
Updated: 2016-02-05
Packaged: 2018-05-14 13:47:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5746114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/KZDippingSauce, https://archiveofourown.org/users/rapono/pseuds/rapono
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everyone knew the apocalypse was coming.  But no one expected it so soon, or for it to be caused by... vampires?! Seriously?!</p><p>Join Bill and Dipper as they journey through the decimated United States, fighting vampires and learning to put up with each other, and meeting other quirky survivors along the way.</p><p>Based on a roleplay rapono and I have been writing for the past while, we are both to blame for this story.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. AND THAT'S WHY I NEED YOU.

**Author's Note:**

> So, a little bit of background info before the story starts: The vampires took over quickly, and were surprisingly strong. Of course the world governments tried to fight back, but they quickly fell. Anyone bitten switched sides without question, all loyalty to humanity forgotten. Most ordinary citizens surrendered, and were taken to who knows where. Of course, the Pines family refused to give up, and decided to fight. But during their final stand at the Mystery Shack, Dipper was separated from the group. By the time he gets back to the shack, his family and the vampires they had been fighting are gone without a trace. This chapter takes place several weeks after....  
> Enjoy!
> 
> (Beta-read by rapono)

Dipper is wandering through an empty part of town. Not a thing is stirring in the ordinarily sleepy town of Gravity Falls, and this has him on edge. He grips his wooden stake apprehensively. He’d been running for weeks now, and hadn’t seen any humans for several days, including his family. He hadn’t left Gravity Falls yet, holding onto the hope that his twin and grunkles were simply hiding somewhere nearby, and had been unable to seek him out. But as each day passed, this seemed less and less likely. Suddenly footsteps can be heard in the distance. Dipper whirls around and looks for the source of the sound, but no one is in sight yet. He starts to walk more quickly, continually checking behind himself for danger.  


“Hello?”  


Dipper turns and sees a figure dressed in a fancy yet slightly tattered yellow and black suit of sorts. He's gripping his side. “Who’re you?”  


A flash of recognition shows in the man’s eyes, but only for a second. “Just a lost and hurt human, like you?”  


“Same…” Dipper grips the stake more tightly. “You sure you haven’t been bitten?”  


The man grips his side tightly. “No, but I am injured.”  


Dipper hesitates a moment, then comes toward him. “Here sit down, let me see the wound.” Slowly, the man removes his hand to show the wound. It’s bleeding, but looks like a blade cut him, not a bite. Dipper looks up at him. “How did you get this?”  


“Someone attacked me.”  


“Why?”  


“Don’tcha know, everything’s gone cuckoo.” The man twirls a finger to his head, rolling his eyes slightly.  


Dipper laughs. “That’s one way of putting it.”  


The man chuckles softly. “You wouldn’t happen to have any sort of bandages, would ya?”  


Dipper slides his pack of his shoulder and rifles through it. “I think so… Here.” He pulls out a roll of gauze. “Um, I’m not sure how to apply it though…”  


“Anything to stop the bleeding should do.” He groans, then whispers, “Pain isn’t so funny anymore…”  


Dipper stops for a moment. “What did you say?”  


“Hmm? Oh nothing, it just… hurts a lot.”  


“Ok…” Dipper starts to unwind the gauze and awkwardly presses it to the wound. “We’ll need to find something to clean the wound with, but this is the best I can do for now.”  


The man takes a small piece of gauze and wipes some of the blood away with it. “Try wrapping it around so it stays.”  


“Ok.” He takes the roll and wraps it around the stranger’s waist several times, then ties it off. “How’s that? Sorry, I don’t have much practice with first aid.”  


The man tightens it a bit more, then grins. “Better. Thanks, Pine Tree!” He realizes what he has said a moment too late and covers his mouth with his hand.  


Dipper stares at him. “Excuse me?”  


“N-nothing!” He backs away slightly, avoiding eye contact.  


“Only one person ever called me Pine Tree, and he was nothing but trouble.” Dipper stands up, starting to get angry. “Tell the truth, who are you?”  


The man continues to back away, and appears to be unarmed. The longer Dipper looks at him, the more his clothes seem familiar. “I just- your hat! It has a pine tree on it! I simply thought…”  


“No one else has ever seen my hat and thought to call me by it.” Dipper raised his stake in what he hoped was a menacing manner. “Last chance: how do you know Bill Cipher?”  


The man grins nervously, and his outfit definitely looks like something Bill would wear. This suddenly seems to register with Dipper. “Are you part of his cult following or something?”  


“Really Pine Tree?” He laughs shakily. “No human could ever pull off looking this good.”  


Dipper is understandably confused. “But… Bill, is that actually you?” The man grins, and Dipper throws his hands up in the air, beginning to walk away. “Okay seriously? Not what I was prepared to deal with today.”  


“… Pine Tree?”  


Dipper stops and is quiet for a moment. “You’re seriously trying to tell me you, Bill Cipher, are human now?”  


Bill shrugs. “Let’s just say a deal didn’t go as planned…”  


“Ok great. Fantastic. You have fun with that. Just stay out of my way.” Dipper grabs his pack and turns to leave.  


“Actually, I was wondering if I could tag along with you.”  


Dipper turns back and laughs. “Seriously?” Bill nods. “And why on earth do you think I’d want to be anywhere near you?”  


“… It’s dangerous to go alone?”  


“More dangerous to be with you.”  


“Well, not anymore…”  


“And what do you mean by that?”  


Bill fidgets nervously, and Dipper sighs. “Bill, what have you done?”  


“I’m unarmed?”  


“Look, this is going nowhere. I can’t trust you if you can’t tell me the truth.”  


“… I MIGHT have started this whole apocalypse…”  


Dipper rolls his eyes. “And how did you do that?”  


“Like I said earlier, a deal didn’t go as planned.”  


“Can you be any more specific?”  


“The vampires took my powers.”  


Dipper stares at him in shock. ‘Really?” Bill makes a nervous noise, but doesn’t otherwise respond. “So that’s why you want to come with me. You’re scared to be on your own without your powers.” Bill continues to say nothing, but there is a defeated look in his eyes. Dipper makes a frustrated noise, then sighs. “Fine. Come on.”  


Bill claps his hands together in delight and dashes to Dipper’s side. “This is gonna be fun Pine Tree!”  


Dipper mutters, “I don’t know why I’m doing this. But here’s the deal. I’ll help you now, but after this is all over, you leave me and any remaining family I have alone.”  


“Maaaaaaaaaaayyybe.” Bill winks.  


“Are you gonna be like this the whole time?” Dipper rolls his eyes.  


“I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t.”  


“Fair enough. Come on, it’s starting to get late. We should find some kind of medicine for your wound, then hide for the night. Please tell me the vampires aren’t actually searching for you?”  


“They don’t need me anymore, I’m useless.”  


“Alright, that makes things easier. Let’s break into the pharmacy, they’ll probably have something we can use.” Bill nods in agreement, and they set off down the street, the pharmacy only a couple blocks away. As they walk, Dipper keeps an eye out for any sign of life, but sees none other than themselves. They arrive at the drugstore, and Bill kicks it open (with style). Dipper follows him inside and begins to search the shelves for anything that could be helpful, when a thump is heard from the back. Bill jumps on top of a shelf like a cat, on all fours. Rolling his eyes at Bill, Dipper goes to investigate the noise.  


As the sound becomes more audible, Dipper realizes that it belongs to someone crying. Dipper yanks open the door to the back. “Hello?” A girl is lying in the corner, clutching her neck in one hand and a bottle of disinfectant in the other. Dipper swears under his breath and rushes over to her, as Bill enters the room behind him. “Can you hear me?” But she does not respond.  


Dipper looks up at Bill. “We need to get out of here, she’s just been bitten.”  


Bill points to the bottle in her hand. “Don’t we need that?”  


“It would be helpful.” Dipper reaches to take the bottle away. She hisses and tries to attack Dipper, but is quickly stopped by Bill’s boot in her face. Dipper backs up quickly. “Let’s just find a different bottle, we need to leave, the original vamp could still be around.”  


“You could also TAKE this one while she’s eating rubber. Looks like she passed out before she could use it.”  


Dipper looks at her guiltily. “Alright…” He darts forward and snatches the bottle. She makes an unhappy noise, but is still stuck under Bill’s boot. Dipper straightens up. “Do you think it’s safe to release her?”  


“Not consciously.” He removes his foot, then kicks her in the side of the head. She passes out instantly.  


Dipper looks at her sadly for a moment, then motions for Bill to follow. “We’ve got to leave now if we’re going to make it to my hideout by nightfall.” Bill nods silently, then follows. It’s strange for him to be so quiet. Dipper glances back at him. “You okay?”  


Bill doesn’t respond at first, but as they continue on, he speaks. “Heh heh, as fine as a powerless demon can be… heh…”  


Dipper scoffs, “You got yourself into this man.” Bill doesn’t say anything more.  


Dipper leads him out of town, towards the woods. Bill moves noticeably closer to Dipper, and Dipper coughs uncomfortably. “What’s up Bill?”  


“Slightly bloodstained is a good look for you.”  


Dipper starts to walk slightly faster. “Uh, thanks I guess?”  


“Although personally, I think COMPLETELY blood-drenched is the best.”  


“And now it’s weird.” Dipper points to a nearby tree. “Here we are.” He pulls open a panel on the tree and punches in a complex code. The grass in front of the tree pulls back, revealing a ladder going down into the darkness.  


“Looks like Pine Tree lives under a pine tree!”  


“Shut up,” Dipper mutters, but he is smiling a little. “Come on.” He starts down the ladder.  


Bill smirks gleefully, and waits at the top of the tree, looking down into the bunker. Dipper jumps the last few rungs at the bottom, and calls for Bill to follow. Bill hops onto the ladder and slides all the way down, “WHEEEEE PINETREEEEEEEEEEEEE” stopping just before hitting the bottom.  


Dipper rolls his eyes. “Can you try to be a little more serious?” He hits a button, and the trapdoor slides back into place. Pulling a lantern from his bag, he lights it, revealing a fully stocked bunker. Bill looks around without a word, but with that smug grin still on his face. Dipper gestures around the room. “This is one of Ford’s old bunkers; I figured he wouldn’t mind if I used it.” He flicks a light switch, turning on huge overhead lights. There are racks of canned and dried food and weapons lining the walls. Bill twirls around in a circle, taking in the view. “There’s only one bed, but you can sleep on the table or something, I don’t even know if you need to sleep.” Dipper sets down the lantern.  


“OR I could…” A devious grin widens on Bill’s face.  


Dipper hesitates for a moment, then realizes what Bill is implying. “BILL NO.”  


“It’s cold down here, we could both use some warmth…” His grin only gets bigger.  


“Bill stop, that’s gross.” Dipper goes to a nearby shelf and pulls out some crackers and canned meat.  


“Well whatever you were thinking Pine Tree, my suggestion was not so vulgar.”  


“Really? What were you thinking then?”  


“Cuddle-huddling for warmth.”  


“Yeah, see, not comfortable with that.” Dipper opens the can and scoops some meat onto a cracker. “Feel free to take any food you want, there’s plenty.”  


The grin fades to a smile. Bill looks at the food in confusion. Dipper notices. “What, haven’t you eaten food before?”  


“Just some soda a couple of times.”  


Dipper laughs drily. “How long have you been human? Doesn’t your stomach hurt?”  


“…Huh. So that’s what that unpleasant sensation meant.”  


Dipper shakes his head in amazement and passes him one of the cracker-meat sandwiches. “Here, eat this. You need food to replenish the blood you’ve lost.”  


Bill messily shoves it in his mouth, while Dipper tries not to laugh. “Don’t forget to chew it.” Bill finishes the cracker, then gazes at the can of meat, not realizing he’s drooling. Dipper hands him the can and a fork. “Think you can handle that?” Bill nods and snatches it from him, devouring the contents hungrily. “Wow, you learn fast.” Dipper opens another can for himself. “Don’t eat too much, you’ll make yourself sick.”  


Bill puts down the can, meat juice dribbling down his chin. He looks exhausted. “We should clean the wound now, before it gets infected.” Dipper pulls him over to a chair, taking a cloth and the disinfectant out of his bag. “This will hurt quite a bit, okay?  


Bill laughs nervously and nods, sitting down and unwrapping the gauze over the wound. Dipper takes the cloth and dips it in the disinfectant, touching it to the wound gingerly. Bill hisses and recoils like a cat, then settles back down. Dipper sighs in frustration. “Sit still or it’ll hurt more you idiot.”  


Bill starts to laugh, quietly at first, then loud and crazily like the lunatic he is. It seems to ease the pain though, as he is sitting still.  


Dipper glances up at him, slightly freaked out, and continues to clean the wound. Once he is done, he rebandages it more tightly than before. “There, all done. Let me know if it starts bleeding again.”  


“Heh, so this is what having a flesh bag for a body is like. You must laugh a lot!”  


“No, that is definitely not a normal human response.” Dipper yawns and stretches. “Time for bed I think. Have you slept at all?”  


Bill shrugs, and Dipper shakes his head, amazed at the demon’s cluelessness. “You take the bed tonight then, I’ll sleep somewhere else.”  


Bill looks over at the mattress awkwardly, before plopping down on it without another word. Dipper pulls an extra blanket and pillow over to a corner, and lies down. Sleep comes easily, and is a peaceful relief. That is, until he wakes up to find Bill snuggled up next to him. The former demon has his arms wrapped around Dipper and is clutching him close. When Dipper tries to get out, he quickly realizes that Bill was stronger than he thought. He couldn’t escape his grip. Bill is fast asleep.  


Dipper groans and pokes Bill, trying to wake him up. “Bill! Come on, let go please, this is really weird…”  


There is no response.  


Dipper tries to wriggle out of his grip, but fails. “Bill! This isn’t funny! I know you can hear me!”  


A little smile appears on Bill’s face, but he still doesn’t move, pretending to be asleep.  


Dipper sighs and crosses his arms. “I don’t know why I let you come with me.”  


Bill snuggles closer to Dipper. “Cause you’re lonely Pine Tree.”  


“I knew you were awake. And for your information, I was doing just fine before you came along.”  


“And Shooting Star?  


Dipper is silent for a moment. “I’m still looking for her.”  


“And ending this… problem?”  


“I’ve killed several vampires, I’m doing what I can.”  


Bill moves into a sitting position, still holding Dipper, who is now in Bill’s lap. “Ah, but it’s the big wigs you gotta go after.”  


Dipper squirms a bit, but quickly gives up. “Oh yeah? Like who?”  


“The vampire generals. Killing a few hundred normal vamps will do you no good.”  


“How do we tell them apart?”  


“You know, bigger, tougher, wear that unclassy jacket, might have my powers, are in control of large amounts of vampires…”  


It took a second for Dipper to register all Bill had said. “Wait… The generals have your powers?”  


“... AND THAT’S WHY I NEED YOU.”  


“Why didn’t you tell me in the first place?” Dipper rolls his eyes. “No wait, I know why, because if you get back your powers in a human body, you cold easily start another apocalypse on your own terms, and there is no way I am helping you with that.” He finally pulls himself out of Bill’s grasp and stand up.  


Bill stays sitting for a moment, thinking. “Well ya know Pine Tree, if you help me end this apocalypse, I’ll postpone mine.”  


Dipper considers this for a moment, then makes up his mind. “Fine, ok. But we have to make a deal, so I know you’re not lying. You help me defeat the vampires and find my family, and I’ll help you reclaim your powers, but after this, you won’t have any more contact with any of the Pines family, that includes any descendants or relatives.” He holds out his hand. “Do we have a deal?”  


Bill makes a disappointed noise. “No contact? How about I won’t hurt or kill them?”  


“No, I’m not gonna risk you messing up any more of our lives, ever. No contact.”  


Bill pouts. “But Pine Treeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee”  


“Last chance Bill. As far as I’m concerned, I can do this without you. This is entirely for your benefit.”  


Bill looks conflicted, and Dipper swears he can almost hear internal screaming. “May I add one exception?”  


“What is it?”  


“I will agree to all your rules… as long as I will still be able to visit YOU.”  


Dipper thinks about this. “Fine. But not around the others, and NO MORE POSSESSION.”  


“Don’t worry, I never said I intended to harm you.” Bill puts out his hand, and Dipper shakes it. For just a second, a blue spark appears above their clasped hands, but Dipper does not seem to notice it. Bill claps his hands together and starts to speak again. “Well, now that’s over and done with, let me make something clear. I will end the vampire general’s life, otherwise you will probably be incinerated. Ok?” He asks sweetly.  


“What? Why?” Dipper processes this for a moment. “Oh, is that how you get your powers back?”  


“Yeah. And I wouldn’t want poor Pine Tree to be a pile of ashes, now, would I?”  


Dipper smirks. “Could’ve fooled me. Alright, deal.”  


Bill nods. “So, got any spare weapons?”  


Dipper motions to a nearby rack with futuristic looking blasters and more classic weapons such as axes and swords. “Loads. But nothing will do the job like a stake.” He rummages in his backpack and pulls an extra one out. “Here. I’ll use a blaster, then you can finish them off with that.”  


Bill takes the stake, then grabs a sword and sheath and attaches them to his waist. Dipper selects a smaller plasma gun, and sticks a knife in his bag. “So what’s your plan for finding the generals?”  


“Well, some should be obvious by their display of my powers, and I know where a few are, but obviously I had no means to fight back at that point.”  


“Alright, do you know of any near here? If we could attack during the day, that would be ideal.”  


“The closest would be in the town to the west of here.”  


“Ok, Pottsville? That’s only a few hours walking, we can make it.” Dipper tosses a loaf of bread at Bill, probably one of the last in the world at this point. “We can eat that on the way.”  


“Well then Pine Tree, to adventuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuure!"


	2. Strike a Pose and Hitch a Ride to Hell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bill and Dipper set out to find the first of the vampires with Bill's powers, and a certain radio host makes an appearance (of sorts).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Beta-read by rapono)

Bill and Dipper arrive at the town of Pottsville, after a two hour-ish walk. Dipper surveys the area. Everything seems quiet, just like Gravity Falls. He turns to Bill. “Well? Where would the general be?”  


“Not certain Pine Tree, but he will be obvious.”  


“Do you know which of your abilities he has?”  


“Levitation.”  


Dipper hums thoughtfully. “Can’t vampires fly anyway though? How will that make him easier to find?”  


“He’s always hovering.”  


“Wow, that will help.” Dipper laughs, and points to a nearby school. “Let’s check there first, maybe the gym or something? Somewhere comfortable to float?” He laughs again.  


Bill smiles and shrugs, and they enter the school. There doesn’t seem to be anyone there, and they poke around empty buildings for a while, but nothing seems to stick out. As they exit an abandoned grocery store, Bill starts to wander off down a random side street. Dipper looks after him. “Bill, can we try to stick together please?” He follows him into the alley.  


Suddenly a floating figure appears in the distance, posing fabulously. Dipper peers up at the figure. “What the heck is that?”  


Bill glared at it. “Olol.”  


Dipper tries to stifle a laugh. “Olol? I assume that’s who we’re looking for?”  


“Yesssss.” Bill backs into the shadows.  


Dipper watches him for a moment, then shakes his head. He looks up at the vampire and shouts, “HEY!” The vampire turns his head and spots Dipper, immediately moving into a fabulous pose while floating nearer. Dipper is unimpressed. “YOU OLOL?”  


“That’s right baby!” He strikes another pose. “And you look like a sweet little treat.”  


Dipper looks back at Bill. “I think you rubbed off on him.” Bill shrugs, and Dipper looks back up at Olol. “Before I kill you, have you seen anyone with the surname Pines?”  


“…I’ve seen lots of trees.” Olol shrugs unhelpfully.  


Dipper rolls his eyes and aims the gun. “Fine. Any last words?”  


Olol laughs. “I don’t have any, but what about you sugar?” Bill is crouching in the shadows, ready to make a sneak attack.  


“Not playing that game.” Dipper pulls the trigger, sending a super powerful laser blast at the vamp. Olol dodges elegantly, and Dipper shoots again, trying to anticipate where Olol will go. Olol is dancing about mockingly, and Dipper growls in annoyance, “Stay still!”  


Olol grins. “Aw, but that’d be no fun!”  


“It’s not supposed to be fun!” This time Dipper catches the edge of Olol’s jacket.  


Olol hisses at the blast. “Oooo! Naughty naughty!” He swoops down at Dipper, knocking away his gun. Dipper dives away and pulls a knife out of his pack, trying to circle back around for the gun.  


Bill leaps up and, with a cry of, “Don’t touch my Pine Treeeeeee!” and slices off Olol’s arm, leaving the vampire looking at it in shock. Dipper is shocked too, but takes advantage of the situation to grab his gun again, taking aim at the vampire’s head.  


Olol cries out, “Wait! You’ll die if you kill me!” He hissed in distress.  


“That’s not how death works,” Dipper scoffs.  


Olol’s arm and the blood from the wound float eerily next to him. He lets out an insane laugh. “Foolish human!” He pounces at Dipper. Dipper leaps to the side, but Olol just barely catches his shoulder with his talons, piercing through his jacket and into the flesh. Dipper cries out in pain.  


Bill is pissed, and as Olol floats back up, he thrusts his sword into the vampire’s head. Not a happy scene. Olol hissed, fluid leaking into his throat and adding a death gargle to his vocal patterns.  


Dipper winces and sits up, raising the blaster. “Bill, get out of the way!” Bill obliges, removing the sword, as Olol makes more gurgling noises. Dipper shoots at the vamp, hitting him directly on the head, leaving a perfectly round hole. Dipper leans back, exhausted. “Stake him now!”  


Bill takes the stake out of his belt (a little clumsily) and thrusts it into the vampire’s heart. A blue spark passes between Olol’s body and Bill, and as Olol’s remains drop to the ground, Bill begins to float. Dipper sighs in relief. “Guess it worked then.” He gets up, wincing.  


Bill stops hovering, and checks over Dipper worriedly. “Pine Tree, what hurts?”  


“Shoulder, I’m fine.” Dipper takes a step, then gasps. His shoulder is bleeding heavily.  


Bill rifles through Dipper’s pack, taking out the gauze. “Should we use this now?” He asks, holding up the bottle of disinfectant, “or should we save it for wounds that are more likely infected?”  


“Save it.” Dipper sits down heavily. “Just the bandages for now.”  


Bill nods, putting the bottle back in the pack, then semi-carefully presses the gauze to the wound. Dipper bites his lip and lets him, trying not to show the pain of contact. After wiping away the excess blood, Bill wraps and binds the wound, a little tighter than Dipper would like, but effectively. Dipper pulls his jacket back on around the wound as well as he can, then pushes himself up unsteadily. “We need to get going.”  


Bill starts hovering beside him. “Alright Pine Tree!”  


Dipper looks at Bill in annoyance. “You’re gonna float all the time now, aren’t you?”  


“Probably.” Bill grins mischievously.  


Dipper rolls his eyes and starts walking. Already the sun is sitting low on the horizon. “We can’t make it back to the bunker by nightfall, what should we do?”  


“Find a high up place.” Bill winks. “I have an idea.”  


“Vampires can fly though dude. High up won’t help that much.”  


Bill looks a little disappointed, but is unwilling to give up his idea, whatever it may be. “Is there a forest nearby?”  


“Yes…” Dipper considers this idea. “That might work, if we can hide ourselves well enough.”  


“Perfect!” Bill claps his hands together in delight, and motion for Dipper to follow him. They head out of town and into the nearby woods, Dipper being careful not to snag his now practically useless arm on any tree branches. Bill stops in front of a large pine tree with thick branches, a huge grin on his face.  


“Well this looks like the beginning of a terrible pun.” Dipper leans against it. “What now?”  


“Take my hand Pine Tree.”  


Dipper hesitantly gives Bill his good hand. Bill takes it, then picks him up bridal style, and starts hovering. Dipper shrieks (like a girl) and punches Bill (not too hard for fear of being dropped). “Why wouldn’t you warn me?!”  


Bill grins happily. “You’re just too cute when you’re frightened.” He flies up into the tree, finding a very dense and dark place among the branches.  


Dipper punches him again. “Not cute.”  


Bill doesn’t seem to mind/notice the punches. “Get comfy Pine Tree, these branches are too heavy to support our weight.”  


“So I have to lie on top of you all night?” Dipper frowns uncomfortably. “I don’t like this idea.”  


“Got a better one?”  


Dipper looks at the now fading sun. “… no.” He slides down so he’s lying more comfortably on top of Bill. “If you sleep, will you stop hovering?”  


“Nah, I’ll stay. I bet that’s how that vampire slept.” He starts to stroke Dipper’s hair.  


Dipper notices and glances up. “Don’t make this any more awkward than it is.” Bill doesn’t respond, but instead wraps his arms around Dipper.  


Dipper decides not to fight this, and slowly drifts off to sleep, surprised at how little pain his shoulder is in. Bill eventually falls asleep too, a smile on his face.  


Dipper wakes up the next morning and almost falls off of Bill. He screams a little (he forgot he was in the air) and generally freaks out. Bill is gripping Dipper tightly, preventing him from falling, but because his hovering ability is active, they starts spinning midair. Dipper is breathing heavily, trying to process what is going on. “Uh… Bill, what?... oh right.”  


“Morning Pine Tree.” Bill snuggles closer as they stop spinning.  


Dipper looks around, getting a grasp on his surroundings. “Did anything happen last night? I had a terrible nightmare…”  


“Oh? What about?”  


“There was a forest I think, and it was really dark, and someone was screaming but I couldn’t figure out who…” Dipper faltered, obviously shaken by the vision. “I-I think I’ve dream that before…”  


Bill looks worried. “Wish I could help you with that Pine Tree.”  


Dipper laughs softly. “Guess we should get your power over dreams back next.” He rubs his stiff shoulder, testing the wound.  


“That one will probably be the hardest and least obvious.”  


“Yeah?” Dipper frowns, probing the wound further. “My shoulder doesn’t really hurt anymore.”  


Bill smiles a non-mischievous looking smile, then floats out of the tree and back to the ground. Dipper untangles himself from Bill and sits down against the tree, unwrapping his shoulder. Beneath the bandage is a small scar, the only evidence the wound had ever existed. “Huh. This hurt like crazy last night. Guess it wasn’t so bad.”  


“I guess so. Now what?”  


Dipper takes off the rest of the bandage and stands up, stretching comfortably. “Well, do you know the locations of any other generals?”  


“From what I’ve heard, there’s one in every major town.”  


“Wow, that’s strangely convenient.” Dipper looks at the sunrise, it’s still early morning. “Let’s take a look at your wound, then we’ll head out.”  


Bill unwraps the gauze. The wound is scabbed over, and seems to be healing well. Dipper peers at it and nods. “Doesn’t look infected, wrap it up like you did my shoulder and you should be fine.” Bill nods and begins to wrap it up again, as Dipper pulls out a map of Oregon and surveys it. “The biggest town near here is Danville, let’s head that way.”  


Bill agrees, and follows Dipper out of the forest and back into town. They continue on until they reach the main highway. There they find cars scattered about, most crashed, but some usable. He turns to Bill. “Don’t suppose you can drive?”  


Bill shakes his head. “Nope.”  


Dipper looks over the cars thoughtfully. “Technically I don’t have a license but… I did try a couple times.”  


“Then all aboard the Pine Tree express!”  


Dipper picks the lock on the door of a nearby truck and gets in, unlocking the other door for Bill. “Don’t say that, sounds wrong.” He reaches under the dash and messes with the wires, until the car starts with a jolt. He grins. “Wendy taught me how to hot-wire a car last summer.” Bill is silent, and Dipper glances at him. “What’s wrong?” He hesitantly presses on the gas, and the car pulls off down the freeway. Bill still says nothing, and Dipper rolls his eyes. “Fine, be mysterious.” Dipper reaches down, being careful to keep his eyes on the road, and fiddles with the radio, but only some strange talk show is playing. He switches it off, but Bill flicks it back on.  


A smooth, calming voice comes out of the speaker. “Hello listeners. Day 25 of the vampire apocalypse, and I am still safe in my barricaded broadcasting booth, talking to whoever might still be out there. Carlos has informed me he hasn’t found any sign of humans other than us two, but hey, that’s no reason to give up hope!”  


Bill smiles. “Interesting.”  


Dipper glance down at the radio, almost hitting a car in the process. “Hmm. I wonder where they are, maybe we could help them out.” Bill shrugs and keeps listening.  


“To anyone who is uninfected, stay safe! Stay alert! And rip the leg off a table or something to defend yourself with! I myself am using the edge of a window sill as a stake, and it is one hundred percent effective!” Bill chuckles, and the program continues. “In other news, the beings in Old Woman Josie’s house, you know, the angels, have been spotted on the streets of Night Vale. What are they doing here? Who knows? Who cares?! They don’t even exist, as city council would like to remind all citizens.” A thump can be heard, followed by a weird scraping noise. The voice goes silent for a moment. “Listeners, I’m afraid something else is in the studio. Carlos? Is that you?” The person gets up, most likely to look out the studio window. He comes back to the microphone and whispers, “It’s not Carlos. Listeners, I have to deal with this potential threat. I may not return. Just in case, stay tuned for three hours of your own fear reflected back at you over the air, followed by a calming jazz concert.” The scraping can be heard again, louder. “Good night Night Vale, good night.” A soft tune begins to play.  


Bill suddenly turns off the radio. “Stop the car!”  


Dipper slams on the brakes, and the car screeches to a halt. “What, what’s wrong?”  


“Incoming vampires. Quick, turn off the car and hide out of sight!” Bill crouches under the dashboard.  


Dipper curses and obeys, crawling under the dash next to Bill. “It’s broad daylight, how could they be out?”  


“They have a few cloaked ones that go out during the day, I’ve seen them before.” A thump comes from the roof of the car. Dipper glances up nervously and reaches for his bag, but Bill taps his shoulder, whispering, “Don’t move.”  


“Oh darn, because that was my entire plan!” Dipper hisses back. He manages to pull out his blaster quietly and holds it at the ready. Bill stays frozen in place. Another thump can be heard on the roof, and the edge of a cloak appears in the side window. Suddenly a fist shoots through the window, spraying the inside of the car with broken glass. Bill shoves the door open, smacking whoever it is. Dipper scrambles up, readying the gun. “What happened to hiding?!”  


“Compromised,” Bill mutters, and readies his sword.  


Dipper rolls his eyes and, seeing a face appear on his side, shoots it. “Just FYI, I blame you for this.”  


Bill slashes at a vamp trying to force the door open. “Why’s that?”  


“Well, you knew they were coming somehow,” Dipper grunts, ducking down as a vampire reaches through the broken window at him, and shoots its hand, “So somehow this is your fault.”  


“I was looking at the sky!”  


Another vampire opens Dipper’s door, and he kicks it and jams the door shut. “Well, any ideas?”  


“In your FACE!” Bill slashes across another vampire’s face, then shanks it.  


“Not exactly what I was looking for, but sure.” Dipper blasts another one who was dumb enough to peer inside. Suddenly a spray of bullets came through the car. Dipper wrenches Bill back under the dash, and somehow neither of them were hurt.  


“W-what?!”  


Dipper sends several shots into Bill’s door, making sure the path was clear, then shoved Bill out of it. “Go, quick, start running or floating or whatever works for you.”  


“Who’s shooting?!” Bill quickly grabs something from the truck.  


“Don’t know, just move!” Dipper shoots out the other side a few more times, then jumps out of the car after Bill, throwing something from his pack into the vehicle. “Go, now!”  


Bill picks up Dipper and flies as far as he can, as Dipper sends a shot into the car. The car blows up, engulfing several vampires who had been surrounding it. But the gunfire persists. Bill shoves something in his pocket, as Dipper scans the area for the source of the gunfire. “There, a vamp with… a machine gun?! What the heck?” Bill flies behind the car and sets Dipper down. Dipper peers over it, only to duck down again as the vamp fires at him. “Do you think it’s one of the generals?”  


“What does he look like?”  


Dipper sneaks another peek at the vampire. “Black cloak, red insignia on the shoulder, can’t make out much else.”  


“Hmm, the cloak might be hiding his role.”  


Dipper cringes as a bullet lands very close to his head, pinging off the car. “What should we do then?”  


“You’ve got the ranged weapon. Try to expose them to the light.”  


“Ok…” Dipper aims the gun, ignoring another bullet that zips past. He shoots twice, once at each shoulder. It blows the cloak off, revealing a very angry vampire. He hisses in the light and darts off the road, retreating momentarily. “I saw him! Just for a sec. He had a weird bronze helmet on, and a tattoo on his right shoulder. Looked kinda like a flag or something.”  


Bill nods. “Captain. He should be the one in charge of this group.”  


“Okay, I’m allowed to kill it then?”  


“Yes; that is, if you can.”  


Dipper grins. “I did survive for quite a while without you, give me some credit.” He glances over the side of the car, then pulls out another gadget from his bag and throws it over, releasing an enormous cloud of smoke. He runs out from behind the car and into the cloud.  


Bill calls out, “Lemme throw you!” But Dipper is already gone, and the sound of a struggle floats back can be heard. Bill floats through the smoke, blade at the ready. He spots Dipper, who has pinned the vampire, and now has one foot one his back as he tries to reach for the gun. “Now I’m only gonna ask this once, vamp. Have you ever heard of, or seen, anyone by the name of Pines?” Dipper readies his stake.  


“We don’t know our prey by their names most of the time,” he says through labored breaths. Bill stands behind Dipper, to defend him from any other vamps that might attack.  


Dipper looks down for a moment, then composes himself and grins. “Ah well, I won’t regret doing this then!” He stakes the vampire, then holds up the bloodied stake for any other vampires who may be watching to see. “Leave us alone,” he calls out. “We are not a force to be messed with.” He shoves the stake in his bag and turns to walk away, but stops as blood sprays his back. Dipper whirls around, confused, but then sees Bill, sword slashed through a vampire that had tried to attack Dipper.  


Bill wipes some blood off his face, shaking off his sword. “Sorry about that Pine Tree.”  


Dipper grins. “Thanks. Shall we go?”  


“In a moment.” Bill starts to go through the captain’s belongings. “See if you can find another working car.”  


“Ok.” Dipper wanders over to a row of mostly undamaged cars, this time more aware of his surroundings. But no more vampires appear; and soon he finds a small car with unlocked doors. He climbs inside and starts fiddling with the wires, preparing to hotwire it again.  


Bill comes back over to Dipper, slightly bloodied and carrying a helmet and chest armor. Dipper grins and opens the other door for him. “Get in loser.” And that’s when the car exploded.  


(A/N [rapono] what?)  


(pardon?)  


(excuse me)  


(just)  


(NO)  


Bill is somewhat protected by the armor he’s carrying, but is knocked backward. When he comes to his senses, he starts to panic. “Pine Tree? PINE TREE!” The car is in flames, Dipper still inside. He’s barely conscious, and just manages to shove open what remains of the car door on his side and slide out. Bill picks him up gently and hovers, inspecting the damage. Dipper is badly burned, and his arm appears to be broken. A cut on his forehead is bleeding badly. His eyes are closed, and his breathing is irregular. Bill carries him to a nearby field of grass, laying him down gently and examining his wounds more closely, although he is unsure what to look for. Somehow, Dip is still conscious, and groans slightly as Bill checks him over. Dipper’s pack is flaming slightly, but salvageable, so Bill pats out the fire and pulls out the gauze and disinfectant. The gauze is singed, so Bill discards it and begins to tear the captain’s cloak into strips to use instead.  


Dipper mumbles something incomprehensible, and Bill looks at him in concern. “Pine Tree?” Dipper mutters something again and groans. “Pine Tree, can you hear me?” Dipper tilts his head slightly, trying to nod. “Lie still.” Bill wraps some of the fabric around the wounds that need it more. Dipper is breathing heavily, trying to look at his surroundings. “Pine Tree, it’s me.” This only seems to confuse Dipper more, the pain making everything seem unfamiliar. “Piiiiiiine Treeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee…..” (A/N [kazo] How is that supposed to help?!) Dipper looks up at Bill, vision clouded by blood from the cut on his forehead.  


Bill leans down and licks the wound on his forehead ([r] NO REGRETS), causing Dipper to gasp slightly then pull away. ([k] SEE WHAT YOU'VE DONE) “Pine Tree?” ([r] I STILL REGRET NOTHING) Bill is confused by the reaction. Dipper seems to be going into shock, his eyes close slowly, and his breathing slows. Bill doesn’t know what to do. ([k] Well, dip can’t exactly help.) Bill calls Dipper’s name one more time, and Dip’s eyes flicker in recognition, but close again. He seems to have gone unconscious. Bill starts to pace nervously.  


A rustle came from a nearby bush. Bill whirls around and unsheathes his sword, moving between the noise and Dipper. A wounded vampire falls out of the bush, holding his side. He laughs when he sees Dipper. “Ah, so we got one of you!”  


Bill slashes at the vamp, cutting his chest, then holds him down, stake raised. “What do you mean?”  


He laughs, insane joy written on his face. “We knew eventually you humans would try to rally yourselves, get together and fight your rule, and there’s no way you could get around without us catching you. Unless, perhaps, you took a vehicle…” He coughs up blood, and grins. “We trapped some of the cars, so after everyone had climbed inside and prepared for their fun little trip… KABLAMO!” He claps his hands in a mock explosion.  


“HOW MANY.”  


“Wouldn’t you like to know?” the vampire sneers. He raises his head slightly and peers at Dipper, still lying in the nearby grass. “Can’t believe he’s not dead actually, I’ll have to tell the others to add more explosives next time…” He laughs again.  


“Not that you’ll be able to tell them.” Bill stakes the vampire with a final strike. The vampire gives a final chuckle, eyes blankly staring up to the sky. Bill stands there a moment, thinking through his options, then makes a decision. He drags Dipper under a nearby bush, making sure he’s hidden and safe, then leaves, heading off into the forest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, when we were role playing this chapter, I made the car blow up out of nowhere. The author's note there is rapono's reaction. :D
> 
> ((rapono: I took about 5 minutes to respond. I needed a moment. I was not ready.))


	3. Awkward Silence in Memory of Dipper's Coolness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dipper recovers from the traumatic events of the last chapter, and a new ally(?) makes his way onto the scene.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, there are some author's notes in the chapter, marked for the person who said it by initials :)  
> Otherwise, enjoy!
> 
> (Beta-read and fixed by Rapono)

Dipper begins to awaken, the sunlight streaming through the trees blinding his squinting eyes. He groans and attempts to raise his hand to his face, only to flinch at the pain. "Ah... Bill? You there?" He tries to figure out where he is. 

"How ya doing, Pine Treee?" Bill is covered in blood and is holding a knife at his side, as he looks back at Dipper from where he sits in front of a fire. Something is roasting over the flames. 

Dipper jumps slightly, startled. "Bill, what... What were you doing?" 

"Hmm? Oh, just preparing some food." He holds up a decapitated deer head, still dripping bodily fluids. "But how are you feeling Pine Tree?" 

Dipper sees the head and leans back, immediately inciting a fresh wave of pain. "Ah... Everything just hurts... What happened?" 

Bill looked down, expression unreadable. "The car exploded. Want a hand?" 

"The car... exploded?" Dipper shakes his head slightly, confused. "How did I survive that?" He tries to sit up. 

He shrugs. "Dunno." He takes Dipper’s hands, helping pull him into a sitting position. 

Dipper looks at his scarred arms and hands, wincing. "Jeez..." He looks around. "Where are we?" 

"Edge of the forest." A deer carcass is roasting over the fire, with blood and organs scattered around it. 

Dipper looks away from that sight uncomfortably, and looks up at the sky. "How long was I out?" 

"Hmm... about three quarters of a human hour." 

"Really?" Dipper feels himself, testing his wounds. He has burns over most of his body, and a bad cut on his forehead. The worst of the wounds have been bandaged with a dark material. His left arm feels sprained, at the very least. "Were there any more vampires?" 

"Killed 'em off. I don't think it's safe to use cars anymore." 

"Why? Just cuz one blew up doesn't mean they all will, I probably just pulled the wrong wire." He laughs, then cringes; the burns on his chest are especially bad. 

"One of the vampires told me they rigged the cars." 

"Yikes, that's smart..." He looks at Bill and smiles a little. "Guess it's back to walking." 

"Or floating." He grins. "Either way, you hungry Pine Tree?" 

He sniffs the cooking meat and realizes he's starving. "Yeah actually." 

"Alright!" He starts cutting pieces of meat off of the carcass. "Oh and see if you can fit into the armor over there. It's not that strong, but better than nothing." 

Dipper pushes himself up, resisting the urge to black out. He limps over to the armor and slips on the chest plate, surprisingly easily. "I think it fits alright." 

"Good." He hands Dipper a piece of meat, a rib still inside. 

Dipper sits down and bites into it, surprised at the taste. "Mmm. Never actually eaten deer before, pretty good!" 

“Like you COUGH HACK COUGH,” Bill smiles at Dipper, then get his own piece. 

Dipper looks over at him, then shrugs, deciding not to pursue whatever Bill had muttered. "Nice job." Bill grins happily. Dipper takes another bite, then swallows. "So what now?" 

"I don't know Pine Tree, what do you think?" 

"We could continue on to the next city, but if any of the vampires got away and reported back to the generals, they could be expecting us." Dipper finishes the piece of meat he's eating and licks his fingers, tossing the bone to the side. "It just depends on whether we're willing to risk that. We definitely need to keep moving, another patrol could come at any time." 

"We should be okay for the day, they only send one daytime group per section." 

"Alright." Dipper sits for a moment, then does a double take. "Wait, how do you know that?" 

"Found out some stuff soon after they stripped me of my powers." 

"Hmm." Dipper takes another piece of meat. "How did you escape from them anyway?" 

"A lot of ignorance and luck." 

"Well there's a suspiciously non conclusive answer." Dipper shrugs. "Guess it doesn't really matter. How long were you on your own?" 

Bill shrugs again, not making eye contact. 

"Fine, don't carry a conversation." Dipper looks around. "Did you save my pack?" 

"What I could." He takes it out and hands it to the teen. Dipper rifles through it, looking at what supplies are left. "The gauze was no good, so I wrapped you in pieces of cloak." 

"Hmm." Dipper pulls out a grenade of some sort, checking it over, and puts it back carefully. "Looks like most things are okay." 

Bill nods, then takes out his own pack (which Dipper had never noticed before), containing items he had taken from the vampires corpses. "Want any of this?" 

Dipper looks over the assorted weapons and armor parts. "Wow, you've been busy." He inspects a small gilded knife. 

"Might as well pilfer what they have." There's a sapphire and ruby inside as well. 

Dipper pulls them out. "What were these from?" 

"Olol and the dayguard captain." 

"Hmm." He holds one up to the light. "Think they do anything?" 

Bill shrugs. "Also Olol wasn't wearing his armor and gear." The blade Dipper is holding has a bronze stripe on it. 

"Huh." Dipper puts them back in the bag. As he leans over, his hat falls off. He picks it up and inspects it, realizing it is actually burned pretty badly. The pine tree design on the front is almost indistinguishable. Bill looks at it and frowns sadly. Dipper puts it back on as well as he can and laughs. "I think new clothes are a must when we get to the next town." His shirt is in tatters, and his shorts not much better. 

"We do have these as well." Bill takes out a couple of day guard cloaks and a torn captain cloak. 

"Ah nice!" He tried on one of the day guard cloaks. "What do you think?" 

"Needs a pine tree." 

Dipper laughs. "Why are you so obsessed with pine trees?" 

"Cuz its you." 

There is a short awkward silence, while Dipper tries to process that. He chuckles. "Doesn't that have something to do with your apocalypse plan, like how Mabel's Shooting Star or Ford's Sixer?" 

Bill shrugs, then begins to pack up his things. 

Dipper waits for a reply; then, realizing there wasn't one coming, packs up everything salvageable of his. 

"What should we do with the rest of the meat?" Bill points at the deer carcass. 

Dipper rummages in his bag for a sec, then pulls out an empty pouch. "Put as much as you can in here, I guess... It won't stay good long though." 

As Bill begins to put out the fire and cut the meat into pieces, "Hey, isn't there a way to preserve this?" 

"I wouldn't know how... If we had a vacuum sealer I guess, or I think people used to dry out meat in the sun, and it would stay good for a really long time... Or maybe salt? But without a fridge, there's no quick way." 

"Salt... from blood?" 

Dipper stiffens, then laughs. "If you could separate the salt from the blood somehow, then yeah, I'm sure that would work. But it would take a whole lot..." 

"Would you happen to have any wild parsnips or carrots on you?" 

"No, why would I have those? Not exactly a survival necessity." 

"Just something I saw before I found you..." 

"Ok..." Dipper looks into the forest. "You might be able to find some, I dunno if they're native to these parts." 

“Also hickory or pecan trees work, I think." He looks at bloody deer head, concentration written on his face. 

"Yeah, I don't even know what those look like," Dipper says, laughing slightly. "You're welcome to try." 

"Or we can go with my original idea!" Bill holds up the deer head, still dripping slightly. 

"You can try I guess." Dipper grins. "Not sure how well that'll work." 

He lays out pieces of the meat, then takes the deer's heart out of the carcass and starts GUSHING THE BLOOD ALL OVEREUIFVGFLKBHL;K'?. 

Dipper looks away, quickly regretting encouraging him. 

After a few minutes, Bill exclaims, “All done!" and wraps the bloodied meat in deer skin then hands it to Dipper. 

Dipper takes it gingerly and puts it in the pack. "Gee thanks." Bill grins happily. Dipper checks to make sure everything else of worth is packed, then stands up gingerly. "What do you want to do then? Should we head to the next town?" 

"Up to you, Pine Tree!" 

Dipper thinks for a moment, then pulls a map out of his bag. He looks at the route they were taking, pinpointing their location. "We're not far from the town, we could probably walk there before nightfall." He looks up at the sun. "Yeah, if we leave now we could." 

"Okay!" Bill grins eagerly, then starts marching away. 

Dipper stands and follows, gritting his teeth against the pain of movement. They start off into the woods, following the path of the freeway. Bill starts skipping and whistling a haunting tune as they go. Dipper listens in silence, keeping an eye out for any movement other than their own. 

They make it to the next town without much trouble. The town seems deserted, but several times Dipper sees something out of the corner of his eye, only to turn and see nothing. He tries to brush this off, but the uneasy feeling lingers. Bill wanders into a nearby store; Dipper follows him, glancing backwards. "Why are we here?" 

"Supply check." He picks up a fallen can, checking if it's any good. A low groan can suddenly be heard from some deeper within the building. 

Dipper freezes and peers into the darkness of the store. "What was that?" 

“I don't know...” A soft sob can be heard, followed by another groan. 

Dipper starts toward the noise, tripping over some knocked over displays on the way like the dork he is. The distressed breaths intensify. Catching his balance, Dipper pulls off his pack and takes out a flashlight, shining it towards the back. "Hello?" 

An unclear and muffled voice can be heard, followed by whimpering. 

Dipper looks back toward Bill, then continues forward, cautiously. "Can you hear me?" The whimpering intensifies, then quiets down. 

Dipper walks behind the counter and peers around a door marked employees only, that was already partially open. A dripping sound can be heard, accompanied by ragged breaths. Dipper shines the light at the back wall of what appears to be a break room. Someone is slumped against the opposite wall. Upon closer inspection, their face is bandaged from their forehead to just above their mouth; they are clutching the stump of their bleeding left arm, the missing arm itself laying limp on the floor beside a bloody axe. 

"Oh my god." Dipper slowly approaches the person, flashlight flickering ominously. "Can you speak? What happened to you?" 

There are eyeholes in the bandages, which you can see as he looks up. “We were... attacked.” 

"By the vampires?" 

“Heh heh, yeah.” 

Dipper glances up at Bill as he enters the room, then down to at the man again. "Were you bitten?" 

“Yeah, but... that's why I'm missing an arm.” His voice shakes slightly. 

"Jeez... Are there any other survivors?" 

“My friends... we were all bitten.” 

Dipper looks back at Bill nervously. "And where are they now?" 

“Dunno, they left after they-AAAAAAAAAAAHHHhhhh... bit me. Then it quieted down.” 

"Okay. Um, how bad are your wounds? Other than your arm, obviously." 

“I... don't know...” 

"What happened to your head?" Dipper starts to move closer. 

“Accident. Badly burned.” 

"Hmm. Oh, sorry, I guess we haven't introduced ourselves. I'm Dipper, and this is Bill." 

Bill nods. "Hello, what your name?" 

“Bonadale.” 

"Nice to meet you." Dipper sits down in front of Bonadale and pulls off his pack, handing the flashlight to Bill. "Would you like me to look at your wounds?" 

Bonadale nods. “Tend to my arm please, my face will be fine.” Bill shines the flashlight in Bonadale's eyes, causing the man to lean away in shock. “Hey!” 

"Bill be nice." Dipper pulls out what's left of the cloak Bill used for bandages and starts to tightly wind it around the wound. 

(R: HERB LORE) 

Bill speaks up, "Where'd ya find the hair dye, punk?" Dipper looks up at Bill in annoyance, but continues to work on the man's arm. “I mean really, purple? Sheesh.” 

Dipper finishes wrapping the arm and leans back. "Sorry, we don't have any painkillers." 

Bon rotates what is left of the shoulder tentatively, testing the wound. “It's okay, the pain's numbed enough. I need help getting up though.” Dipper nods and moves next to him, reaching out an arm to help him up. Bonadale takes Dipper's arm with his remaining one. Dipper almost falls over. Bonadale is incredibly strong. Dipper stands up, pulling Bonadale with him, struggling a bit. He is still not fully healed from the burns, and the contact stings. Eventually he gets up, then grabs his axe from the crimson puddle. Bill eyes him suspiciously. Dipper lets go of him after making sure he could stand on his own and stands next to Bill, unsure of what to do next. 

Bon finally breaks the silence. "My former friends might still be... around." 

Dipper nods. "Could be risky to go looking for them on your own... I suppose you could travel with us for a while if you wanted..." 

"I said FORMER, they're vampires now." 

"Oh right, sorry." Awkward silence in memory of Dipper's coolness. "Well, the offer still stands. We're trying to destroy the generals, and eventually defeat the vampires entirely. Couldn't hurt to have an extra freedom fighter." 

Bonadale shrugs, the movement devoid of commitment. As he straps the axe to his belt, Bill looks at him weirdly. Dipper slings his pack over his shoulder again and glances at Bill. "What's up?" 

“Red eyes.” 

Dipper does a double take. "Vamp?" He whispers. 

Bonadale waves his arm in front of him. “No... natural.” 

"Oh. Heh, sorry. But you can't be too careful." Dipper wanders back into the main store, checking out the area for any other unexpected occupants, but finds no one. 

When Dipper gets back, he finds Bill is forcefully opening and inspecting Bonadale's eyes and mouth. 

"Bill, what... Please explain because this looks really weird." 

Bill mutters, “Just double checking he's not a vamp.” He lets Bonadale go. 

Dipper chuckles softly. "You satisfied?" 

“Yep, he wasn't lying.” 

Dipper nods. "That's good to hear. So Bonadale, have you decided? Would you like to come with us?" 

Bonadale nods. “I don't see why not.” 

"Alright! We should get moving then, just in case your friends are still around. Bill, any idea where the general may be?" 

But Bonadale speaks up again; “Just cuz I was left alone, doesn't mean they left. Did you see my arm?” 

Dipper nodded uncomfortably. "What do you propose we do then?" 

“Be careful. I’ll let you know if there's any sign they're around.” 

Bill suddenly remembers seeing a large gouged out bite mark in Bonadale's infected/severed arm. He turns to violet-haired man. “Who did that?” 

“A friend. If we meet her, we're doomed. She's fierce, and even worse, I imagine, as fully changed vamp.” 

"Yikes." Dipper shifts his stance nervously. "Well, where should we go?" 

"Well, we explored this half of the city before we were ambushed. Might as well check the other half." 

Dipper nods and starts toward the exit. They leave, but Bill is keeping a close eye on Bonadale. They start down the street, as the sun starts to sink lower in the sky. Dipper glances around, but doesn't see anything suspicious. 

Bill glances at the setting sun. "We should probably head inside." 

Dipper nods. "Bon, you know of anywhere that might be safe?" 

Bonadale shrugs, but Bill points at a nearby building. "There seems good!" 

"Alright, let's go." Dipper heads toward the building, some kind of furniture store. He pulls open the unlocked door and heads inside, finding a light switch beside the door and flicking it on. Bill and Bonadale enter, but the bandaged man stops and stares at floor. Dipper turns and looks at him. "What's up?" Bonadale puts a finger to his mouth and points to piece of cloth on floor. 

Dipper glances down at it then turns back to the main room, looking for any sign of movement. Someone had obviously been in here already, by the mess of pushed around chairs and bedding littering the aisles. Bill and Bonadale meet eyes, then Bill heads for the door. It's locked. Dipper begins to move forward, careful not to disturb any of the scattered items. All is silent. 

*scrape* 

Dipper whirls and looks around, but can see nothing. He pulls the blaster from his pack, dropping the bag to the floor as softly as possible. 

*soft chuckling* 

Dipper turns again, but still can't make out anything irregular. He starts to try to back his way toward Bill and Bonadale. 

*someone starts singing, slowly and softly* 

_Toreador, on guard! Toreador, Toreador!_

_And dream well, yes, dream of fighting_

_There is a pair of black eyes watching you,_

_That await your love._

Dipper moves a little faster, almost tripping on a chair. "Bill?" He whispers. 

_Toreador, love awaits you!_

Dipper is officially freaked out. 

Bill looks confused and honestly, a bit scared. The wrappings on Bonadale's face make it too hard to read his expression. 

_Toreador, en garde, Toreador, Toreador! Et songe bien, oui, songe en combattant_

_Qu'un oeil noir te regarde,_

_Et que l'amour t'attend,_

_Toreador, L'amour t'attend!_

Dipper raises the gun and stops, sure he heard something from the right. But still, he sees nothing. 

The shuffling of footsteps can be heard, from two, maybe three directions. 

Dipper definitely hears something from straight ahead and fires on instinct. The singing stops, and for a moment all is silent. Then the lights flicker out. Dipper whirls around, and can hear movement all around, but doesn't fire the gun for fear of hitting Bill or Bonadale. 

_Ha ha ha_

A faint red light is seen in the corner of Dipper's eye, and he whirls around and shoots at it. 

(K: Oh goodness I hope this doesn't go badly) 

Bonadale shouts, “WOAH watch it!” The light appears to be coming from him? He doesn't seem to notice. 

_I'm lurking in your closet_

_Never seen likes before_

_*garbled* bodies_

_Breathing lurking at your door_

A golden light flickers in the distance, and Dipper is starting to panic. "Bill?" 

Bill has his gun and sword ready, looking around nervously; Dipper starts to move back in the direction he believes Bill to be. The group's eyes are staring to adjust to the darkness, as they can make out the vague shapes of each other and nearby furniture. 

_We've come to terrorize you_

_Broken bodies with a score_

_We'll really never give up_

_You're fate is sealed for sure_

Dipper trips and falls to the floor, accidentally firing the gun again. 

In the darkness come the sounds of someone scrambling away, and another flash of amber light. Bill helps Dipper up. The lights start to dimly flicker. Dipper steadies himself, and fires at a distant figure just disappearing behind a dresser. He misses just barely. 

_The night's not over yet_

_You can't escape me_

__

_You really can’t forget_

__

_You can't escape me_

There’s a flicker of pink behind an armoire. 

_The party's just begun_

_You can't escape me_

Dipper fires at another shape, catching the edge of a cloak. 

_You can try, that makes this more fun!_

A figure starts dashing towards them down the distant hall, they can hear the footsteps sound, each like a thunderclap in the relative stillness of the enormous store. Dipper shoots at the figure but misses. The lights flicker, revealing a crazed looking (somewhat plump and muscular, she's sorta big) woman, charging straight for them. Bonadale freezes up at the sight. Dipper fires the blaster and catches her on the shoulder, but she keeps charging, not even flinching, her devilish smile growing wider. Bill shoots and lands a headshot. She stops, head forced back from the shot, arms hanging lazily at her sides. Dipper watches her nervously, blaster still raised. She’s still standing, but her head now hangs down limply, dead-eyed and mouth agape, blood staining her blonde hair. Bonadale watches in nervous silence. Dipper lowers the gun slowly. 

Her pink eyes suddenly snap into focus, and she starts to laugh, quietly at first, and steps toward the group once again. Dipper shoots her in the chest again, then once more, but she doesn't stop. 

She picks up speed, charging now and laughing maniacally, blood running down her face Dipper curses and shoots twice more, before dashing to the side, pulling Bill behind him. 

Bonadale is staring at her in shock. She's not stopping, and is now very close. "Bon, get out of the way!" Dipper shouts, firing another shot. 

Bonadale whispers: "It's her." She pounces. 

"Bonadale!" 

He holds something in front of him before the woman tackles him down, holding him on the floor. Dipper dashes back toward him, unwilling to fire his weapon and hit their new ally. She's on top of him. She looks up at Dipper... she has Bonadale's disembodied arm in her mouth? 

Dipper draws a stake from his belt and eyes her warily. "Get away from him." 

“Hee hee hee!” Dipper can see Bonadale beneath her. He seems fine? When did he get is cut-off (infected) arm? 

Dipper comes a little closer. "I said, get away from him." 

“Oh, I'd rather not do that... yet. But me and my group will leave you alone if you fulfill my request.” Bill turns around to the sound of cackling from behind. 

"Oh? And what would that be?" Dipper replies, not noticing Bill right away. 

“I want a taste of you two cutie patooties.” She tears some flesh off the arm, raising it to her mouth with a smile. 

"Yeah, see, that's exactly the type of thing that's going to be a problem." Dipper glances behind himself, trying to locate Bill. 

"All I'll need is a bit of flesh...” She licks her lips. “But you might want to stop your friend from meeting mine." Bill is still walking away. 

Dipper sees Bill and starts to edge toward him. "Bill? Could use a little help I think..." 

Bonadale shuffles around beneath the woman, then takes out a switchblade. “Hey, use this.” 

Bon slides the knife to Dipper, who picks it up, with confusion at first, then sudden understanding. "Oh.... Jeez, seriously? No other choice?" 

“That's up to you, sweetie.” The crazed woman winks. Bill is still distracted. 

Dipper turns toward Bill again. "Bill! Seriously, get over here please!" Bill slowly makes his way back to Dipper, eyes still towards where he heard the noise. The woman is starting to get impatient. Dipper holds the knife at arm's length. "So the deal is, we give you a piece of flesh, and you let us and Bon go?" 

“For now, yessssssss...” Bill is most uncomfortable and Bonadale's expression can't be read because of the bandages. 

"Okay, great." Dipper holds the knife out to Bill. "Can you do your own, or... You'll need to do mine." 

Bill looks nervous, but takes it. “I'll be fine Pine tree. Tell me when you’re ready.” 

Dipper looks away and holds out his arm. "Just do it." Bill takes a nice chunk out of dipper arm cleanly. The piece is about the size of 3 erasers.* (K: Great visual) Dipper grits his teeth, only making a slight noise in reaction. When Bill is done, he tears a strip of cloth off the bottom of his shirt and wraps the wound with it. (R: I dunno why I chose erasers) Bill hands dipper his own flesh, then cuts out his own, roughly the same size, gasping in shock. Dipper tosses his flesh to the woman's feet. "There. Satisfied?" 

She picks it up, licking blood off it, a grin appearing on her face. “Mmmm, aren't you a sweetiepie?” 

Dipper rolls his eyes, tearing off another strip of his shirt and handing it to Bill. "Now let Bon go." Bill hands over his flesh. “Hmm... a little spicy and a sinister flavour. Heheehehehee.” The woman seems pleased. 

"Now fulfill your end of the deal." 

“Of course.” She gets up off Bonadale, who stands up quickly. 

Dipper motions for the bandaged man to join him and Bill. "Thank you. We'll leave you now." 

“Hehehehehehee! Farewell, sweeties!” They dash out of the building, an insane laugh following them out. 

It's fully night bow, and Dipper scans the street anxiously for any sign of vampires. But all seems quiet. Bill gasps, “Let's find ANOTHER building.” 

Dipper nods and scans the street. "There's a pawn shop down there, maybe that'll be empty?" 

Bill nods. “Better hope so.” Bonadale is being oddly silent. 

"Alright, let's try that then." Dipper crosses the street to the shop and tries the door handle. It opens after being smashed with a nearby brick, and Dipper heads inside. Bill follows Dipper, but Bonadale looks back before entering. 

The shop appears to be empty, abandoned exactly how it was the day the vampires attacked. Various knickknacks litter the room, on tables and countertops, all with exorbitant price tags on them. Dipper peers into the back of the shop, and, finding no one, breathes a sigh of relief. He sinks down into an old rocking chair, then sits straight up again. "Damn it, Bill, I forgot my backpack, it's still in the furniture store somewhere." 

Bonadale raises his hand. “I'll go get it.” 

Dipper shakes his head. "Bad idea, especially with those... people in there. We were lucky they let us go once, I doubt they'll let you go again." Bonadale is making nervous gestures with his hands. "I appreciate the thought, but I don't want to send you to your death, or worse." He makes a frustrated noise. "We'll just have to stop for more supplies, I've still got my blaster at least." He sits down on the floor, and Bill joins him, taking off his own pack. 

Bill is sorting through his stuff, and helping Dipper, then turns around. “He's gone.” 

Dipper looks up, then groans. "Dammit. Should we go after him?" 

“I say if he doesn't come back, well... he just doesn't come back.” 

Dipper hesitates, then nods. "If he's not back by morning, we'll leave. We should find the next general quickly; I don't want to run into that group again." Bill nods in agreement. 

Later in the night, a tall figure can be seen approaching. It approaches the window, and casts a shadow over Dipper, who is dozing in the rocking chair. 

“Hey. I found your backpack.” 

Dipper starts up and looks around in confusion. "Bon?" 

He nods, his red eyes glowing slightly in the darkness. 

Dipper rubs an eye sleepily. "How did you get back in and out of there?" 

“Well you know how earlier I said my friends were turned into vampires...” 

"Yeah..." 

“That was... them.” 

"And they just let you go? They didn't seem so friendly earlier." Bonadale makes nervous noises. Dipper sits up, more awake now. "You okay?" 

“Well, as okay as I can be missing an arm.” 

"No, I mean, did they take anything else from you?" 

“No?” 

"That's good." Dipper looks toward the back, where Bill is sound asleep on an old couch. "Well, thanks for doing that. I really appreciate it." 

“No problem.” He tosses Dipper the pack, then looks for a place to sleep. 

Dipper opens the pack and rummages inside it for a moment, finally pulling out an old book, nearly falling apart with age and wear. Bon looks over, curious about the book, but decides to go to sleep instead. Dipper stays up for a while longer (he had always been a bit of an insomniac), reading the book he hadn't dare take out in front of Bill, just in case the demon’s old priorities still existed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> K: So, Bon is here! He belongs to rapono, so as of this chapter I have been playing Dipdop and rapono has been playing Bon and Bill. But next chap, I introduce a character who may be familiar to some of you! ^_^  
> Also, couldn't get the formatting to work for some reason on the song lyrics. :/ Not sure what happened there. Excuse the awkward flow around that part!
> 
> (R: Thankfully I know a tiny bit of coding. Lemme see if I can fix your prob, Kazo.  
> ...  
> SOMETHING FRAGGED UP.  
> nvm it should be fixed now ^^;)


	4. Where do you keep the Bloodstone Circle?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team regroups, and a character who may be familiar to some of you enters the scene...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Rapono has Beta-read this)

Morning eventually comes, with no more unexpected happenings. Bill wakes up slowly, then panics. Dipper hears Bill and sits up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He had fallen asleep reading the book, and quickly shoved it back in the bag. "Bill, what's wrong?" 

Bill gestures at the sleeping form on the floor near the door. “Bon's here? Did you even check him!?” 

"Uh... No, I didn't think to..." Dipper shrugged sheepishly. "He seemed fine." 

Bill stares intensely at the sleeping Bonadale, his mistrust evident. 

Dipper shrugs. "Feel free to check him, I think he's clean." 

Bill raises an eyebrow, but goes over to check the sleeping man. Meanwhile, Dipper rearranges the contents of the backpack, making sure the book is properly hidden and checking what other items they would need to replenish. 

Bill seems satisfied after several minutes of poking/inspecting the still sleeping Bonadale. Dipper looks up as Bill comes back toward him. "See? Fine." Bill grumps. Dipper laughs and closes the backpack. "We should try to stop for some more medical supplies soon, we're all out of material for bandages." 

“That's no surprise.“ He glares at Bon. 

"Aw come on, we were almost out anyway. It's good that we were able to help him." 

Bill makes another grumpy noise. “Should I wake him?” 

"Up to you. We should get moving soon, if you want to catch the general today." 

Bonadale stretches & gets up. “Mornin'...” 

"Hey." Dipper stands up and pulls on his backpack. "Wanna go find some breakfast?" 

Bonadale lets out a yawn. "Sure, I guess.” 

"Alright, let's head out then." Dipper opens the door and walks out, only to duck back in with a curse. A hooded figure is wandering down the street towards them. 

“What?” Bonadale peers out the window and sees the figure. 

Bill murmurs something under his breath. “Should we shoot them?” 

"I don't know, I think it saw me though." Dipper takes the gun out of his bag just in case. 

Everyone waits and watches in silence. The figure draws nearer, and nothing can be made out under his cloak. He stops in front of the door, and starts to reach for the handle... 

Bill leaps out and holds a blade to the figure's throat. “Who are you? State your business!” 

The figure leapt back, hands up. "ALL HAIL THE MIGHTY GLOW CLOUD AND GROVEL IN ITS SHADOW. Or, whatever you normally chant at your bloodstone circle! I mean you no harm!" 

The group stares at the man in shock. Bill clears his throat. “Excuse me?” 

"I mean, er..." The man was obviously flustered. Beneath the cloak it could now be seen that he was wearing fuzzy pants and a t-shirt that said "I <3 science" but with an actual human heart. 

Bill thrusts the knife a little closer to his throat. “NAME.” 

(R: aw yiss) 

"Cecil Gershwin Palmer, I go by Cecil usually." 

Bill pulls back a little. “Alright Cecil, stand still and let me check you. While Bill is checking Cecil for infection/weapons, Cecil glances at Bon & Chipotle. He gives them a little wave; Dipper returns the gesture, and Bonadale gives a polite nod. Bill hums slightly, obviously finding something peculiar. “Well then.” 

Dipper comes closer. "What's up? Is he clean?" 

“Yeah, just... he has interesting stuff on him. Like weird.” 

"Like what?" 

“A microphone.” 

Cecil nods eagerly. "It's my broadcasting equipment, I can't disappoint my listeners!" 

Bill snaps his fingers. “Wait a moment, I recognize that voice!” Bonadale is standing in the background quietly. 

"Really? From where?" Dipper doesn't recognize it at all. 

Cecil grins. "You listen to my show?" 

Bill turns to Dipper. “Remember on the car radio?” 

"Oh yeah... That was him?" 

Bonadale is still silent and ignored. 

Bill turns to Cecil. “Right?” 

"Yes, I run the Night Vale community radio show, are you from Night Vale too?" Cecil looks hopeful, and a little desperate. They all shake their heads. "Oh." Cecil looks sad. "Do any of you know where we are, by any chance?" 

Bonadale shrugs, then turns to B & D. “But wait, where are you two from?” 

Dipper speaks up. "We're from Gravity Falls, it's not too far away from here. We're in the state of Oregon right now." 

Bill continues, “Where are you from, Bonadale?” The bandaged man doesn’t reply. 

"Oh Gravity Falls, I've never heard of that. Is it anywhere near the imaginary city of Michigan?" Cecil looks hopeful again. 

(R: is it?) 

(K: No ) 

Bill shakes his head. “Nah.” 

"Oh..." Cecil frowns. 

Bill looks at Bonadale, a curious expression on his face. “But Bon, you never answered my question.” Bonadale sweats nervously, but doesn't respond. 

"Yeah, is this not your hometown, or..." Now Dipper is interested. 

Bonadale shakes his head. “N-nowhere! I'm from... nowhere in particular.” 

Cecil pipes up, “Oh nowhere! I hear it's really nice there this time of year!” 

Bonadale nods. “Uh heh heh, yeah!” Bill glares at Bonadale, but doesn’t persist. 

"Well anyway, what are you doing here Cecil?" Dipper looks at Cecil curiously. 

(R: you are cecil) 

(R: GO) 

(K: Oops lol) 

"I have no idea, I was in Night Vale with Carlos, then we were running from some vampires, and then I was here." He shrugs. "Perhaps this is just some portion of Night Vale I have never visited before, or maybe I'm just dreaming all of this. Huh." 

Bill gestures around the room. “Well wherever this Night Vale is, I don't think you're in it anymore.” 

"Well... That's worrying to say the least. It's hard to leave Night Vale, and even harder to find your way back. And I have to get back to Carlos, he needs me!" 

Bill raises an eyebrow. “Who is this... Carlos?” 

"Carlos? He's my boyfriend! He's a scientist, and he's got the most perfect hair..." Cecil drifts off, a dreamy look in his eye. Bonadale is silent. 

Bill sweats nervously. “That's... great Cecil.” 

"Isn't it? He's the best! That's why I've got to get home, it's dangerous to be alone, especially in Night Vale. He might forget to make the daily blood sacrifice to city council!" 

“Okay then... that's greeat.” 

"Okay, so this is all fine I guess, but we probably shouldn't stay here much longer." Dipper glances towards the door anxiously. "We should really try to find the general in this town today, before the vampires here really catch on to our plans." 

“There's no general here.” 

Dipper turns to Bonadale in surprise. "Wait really? How do you know?" 

“They left after biting my friends, if they were a general.” 

"Really? Why would they do that... Do you know anything else about them?" Meanwhile Cecil is just kind of edging away from Bill and the knife. Bill doesn't notice. 

“What color is a general again?”` 

"Usually gold and red armor and clothing, but sometimes they deviate." 

Bonadale processes this. “What about silver and red?” 

"Uh..." Dipper turned to Bill. "What do you think?" 

The violet-haired man continues, “The metal looked like silver, and the gems, sorta like rubies, but maybe not as red?” 

"That sounds kind of like a commander..." Dipper contemplated. "Do you think it could have been, Bill?" 

“Maybe...” Bill remembers how the woman resisted bullets. “You said they left after biting your friends? Did he bite them all or just one that bit the others?” 

“He bit our leader then our leader bit everyone, although as you know, I made a sacrifice to prevent becoming one of them.” 

Dipper interrupts, "What abilities does the commander have?" 

Bill shrugs. “I'm not certain, but I know it's one of my strongest ones.” 

"Could he have passed on some of the ability he stole? Is that even possible?" Dipper glanced at Cecil, who was now picking up random objects in the shop and inspecting them. 

“I don't know.” Bonadale seems to be deep in thought. 

"Well, should we pursue him? Or is he powerful enough that we need to avoid him?" Cecil picks up a magnifying glass and tries to spin it like a top, causing it to clatter to the floor. Bill gives Cecil a look that says "really?" Bonadale speaks up. “Well, I can tell you one thing, we DID NOT see him coming.” 

"Hmm... Cecil, what were the vampires like in your town?" Cecil looked up. "Well... There were a lot of them, more than we have citizens certainly. After a while, most of them left, leaving just about a hundred or so to hunt down the last of the survivors. Or at least, we think they left." 

Dipper turned back to Bill. "What do you think? Could one of the generals be there? If so, we could go after him first, put some distance between us and the commander, until you get more of your powers back.” 

Bill nods. “Sounds like a plan, Pine Tree!” Bonadale looks like he's suddenly realized something. 

Dipper notices Bonadale's reaction. "What's up Bon?" 

“I think he... strengthened my friend's strengths. Which would mean that Chell is super tough AKA has high defense, Rex has...” 

"What?" 

Cecil is still goofing around with stuff, he sits in the rocking chair and almost falls over backward. 

Bonadale continues, “My friends, the vamps who attacked us, the commander must have strengthened their traits.” He looks over at Cecil and laughs silently at his antics. 

"Well that can't be good. We should hit the road as soon as possible." Dipper checked the door, and, seeing no more random hooded figures, opened it and stepped outside. "We just need to stop for medical supplies. Come on Cecil, you can come with us." Cecil grins and hurries out the door after Dipper. "Great! I'm sure we'll all be the best of friends!" 

Bill is silent, and Bonadale gives a thumbs up. Dipper heads down the street, closely followed by Cecil and the others. There doesn't seem to be anyone around, and the streets are quiet. At the end of this intersection there appears to be a drugstore. For a moment, Bonadale seems almost distracted, but regains focus as they quietly enter. Dipper scans the shelves for any objects that might be useful; although it's all pretty picked through already, he manages to find some bandages, disinfectant, and even painkillers. Suddenly, a skittering of footsteps is heard, and not from the group. Dipper doesn't hear, but Cecil does. "Guys... Did anyone else hear the pitter-pattering of possibly malevolent feet?" 

Bill is uncertain but Bonadale nods. Dipper looks around the darkened shop, but doesn't see or hear anything else. "... We should go." Bonadale nods again and waits at back of group. Dipper leads the way back towards the door, Cecil following close behind. Bonadale stays behind for a moment, looking around, then rejoins the group. Dipper grabs the door handle and pulls, but the door doesn't respond. He tugs again, then pushes, but still nothing. "Er... Guys?" Bill looks heavily displeased and Bonadale might have muttered s***. 

Cecil jumps backward into Bonadale, knocking them both to the floor. "Did you see that?" A glint of teeth and flash of gold are momentarily seen, and Bill preps his sword. 

Dipper mutters something under his breath and pulls out the gun. "Bill? What's the plan?" 

"Get out unbitten and alive." 

Cecil scrambles up and pulls out the microphone set, pressing buttons and adjusting dials. Dipper nods and scans the room, but can't see any targets to fire at. Someone dashes in front of them, but disappear as quickly as they appeared. Bonadale seems to know what's going on. 

Cecil lets out an excited breath and begins to talk quickly into the microphone. "Good evening listeners. I come to you from an unknown location, where me and my band of resisters have been surrounded by an unknown group of predators." 

"Seriously? You’re making a radio broadcast now?" Dipper hisses at Cecil. 

"Of course, my listening audience, whatever is left of it, deserves to know what's going on!" 

Bonadale whispers, “It’s Rex.” 

"Ok, so what do we do?" Dipper decides to ignore Cecil for now, as Cecil continues his broadcast. 

Bon continues, “I don't think they like the fact we now have an extra member.” 

"Why?" 

“Remember we each gave a piece of flesh?” 

"Right. You think they want some of him too?" Dipper gestures at Cecil. 

“I hope.” 

"Jeez… Okay." Dipper walks back to Cecil and quietly explains the situation, with more than one protest from Cecil, but eventually he agrees. 

Bon gestures to Cecil’s arm. “If you cut it off and hold it out, he'll probably grab it.” 

"Do I have to?" Cecil whines. "The ancient gods were never this demanding." He makes a pouty face. 

Bonadale shrugs. “It's that or death.” 

He makes a bigger pout. "...Fine." He holds an arm out for Bill's knife. 

Bill makes a quick a clean cut, blood starting to ooze from the now exposed flesh. 

"OW." He puts the cut in his mouth, sucking on the wound. 

A rusty-red blur rushes past them, and the flesh is gone. It's silent for a moment, and Dipper looks around warily. "Is... Is that it?" There’s nothing but silence in response. Dipper tries the door again, as Cecil continues to complain quietly. 

The door swings open silently, and Dipper looks back to the others. "Come on, let's get out of here while we can." No one protests, and they all get out safely. 

Dipper looks up and down the street, and all seems to be silent. It is mid-afternoon. 

Bonadale turns to Cecil. “Do you know from which direction you came from?” 

Cecil looks up from nursing his wound and nods, pointing to the southwest. "I was running from that direction, and now I'm here." 

“Could we go there?” 

Cecil shrugs. "Space is weird. So is time. That direction might not lead to Night Vale at all; or it might only be a few steps away. It's as good a plan as any!" 

Bonadale looks to our chip & dip crew. 

Bill hums thoughtfully. “I don't see why not. Pine Tree?” 

Dipper shrugs. "Sounds good. As long as we can put some distance between us and the commander, anything sounds good." 

Everyone agrees and they make their way... 

Soon they leave the city and begin to head into a stretch of countryside, with few trees and foliage. Night begins to fall, and Dipper approaches Bill. "What should we do about camping out for the night?" 

“Well I can't exactly bring everyone up into the tree like last time...” 

"Yeah that's what I was thinking. I don't think it's safer to just keep moving either, we'll be a bigger target." 

Bonadale joins the conversation. “So where should we stay?” 

Dipper looks around skeptically. "There's a group of trees over there that might work. We can make a temporary camp and take turns sleeping." 

“How?” 

Dipper starts walking toward the area, and the others follow. "See how these trees have low branches? As long as we don't start a fire, we can probably stay here for the night. I think the branches are thick enough that we won't be seen from above." 

Bill floats around and starts taking off a few branches to make shelter. Bonadale sees this and is worried. “Is he a...” 

"Vampire?" Dipper shakes his head. "His situation is... special. But he's on our side, at least for fighting the vamps." 

“Is he though?” 

"That's what he says anyway, and he hasn't done anything to cause me to suspect otherwise." Dipper shrugs. "There isn't really any other option at this point but to trust each other." 

“Is he actually a vampire, I mean.” 

"No, definitely not a vampire." Dipper gives a small chuckle. 

Bonadale is probably squinting, not that you can really tell through all the bandaging. He leaves & helps set up. 

Cecil wanders around the forest area, checking the ground for something. He finally looks up and shouts, "Where do you keep the bloodstone circle?" 

Bill is still floating around, not paying much attention to anyone except his construct. Bonadale shouts back, “What?” 

Cecil walks over, still looking from side to side in confusion. "You know, the bloodstone circle! To make the daily sacrifice to city council and any other various pagan religions you might follow. Don't tell me you don't have one?" 

Bill temporarily stops building and floats down beside Cecil. "Sorry Three Eyes, but we're all out of those." 

"Darn. Well, I don't suppose the Sheriff's Secret Police can arrest me for skipping a sacrifice at this point." Cecil falls silent, a wistful expression on his face. 

Bill shrugs. “Nope!” Bon just sighs. “Well, who wants to help me finish this shelter?” Cecil nods, and he and Dipper follow Bill to what already exists of the shelter, and help add more branches to the sides, making it look inconspicuous among the rest of the forest 

Eventually, Bill seems satisfied with their work. “Yessss!” 

Dipper nods. "It looks good. There should be room for all of us under there. And just in time too." The sun is almost completely below the horizon, and dusk has begun to fall. The group climbs into the shelter, passing out food and eating in the relative darkness of the shelter. 

Cecil breaks the silence, as he rips open a pack of chips. "I wonder where Carlos is. I... I hope he's safe. The vampires were chasing him too." Bonadale silently nods, something clearly on his mind. 

"If he got back to the radio station, he should be fine, and of course, a scientist is always fine, but still... I can't help but worry." Cecil takes a handful of chips and start to munch on them slowly. 

Bill stares at the chips for a moment, before glancing at Bonadale. "Hey No-face, what's up?" 

Bon mutters something under his breath, but otherwise doesn't respond. 

Dipper glances at Bonadale, then turns back to Cecil. "I'm sure if you guys survived this long on your own, he'll be fine." Cecil nods, but doesn't respond. 

Bonadale seems depressed. 

Dipper turns back to Bonadale. "You okay?" 

"No." He lies down and goes to sleep. 

Dipper looks at him for a moment, then shrugs, unwilling to pursue the matter further. "I guess we should get some rest. Should we take turns at watch, or do you think we're concealed well enough?" 

Bill gets up and moves toward the entrance. “I can watch for a bit. Three Eyes? Are you up for guard duty?” 

Cecil nods; then, realizing it's quite dark and difficult to see non-verbal communication, reaffirms with a "yes." 

“You can sleep for now, I'll wake you up when it's your turn.” 

"Alright." He and Dipper settle down for the night, Dipper rolling out his sleeping bag for Cecil to use, opting to use an extra sweater for his own pillow and lying down on the relatively soft pine needles. Soon they're both fast asleep. 

Cecil is awoken. Bill looks worried, as if something is wrong. Cecil rubs one eye sleepily. "What's up?" 

“It's your turn to guard Three Eyes. Also, Bonadale left and hasn't come back yet. He just randomly got up and left. When I tried talking to him, he just stared at me for a moment then continued on his way without another word.” 

"Oh." Cecil peered through the branches of the shelter, but it really was too dark to see anything. "What do you want me to do?" 

“Do your guard duty. If he comes back, make sure he doesn't bring friends or that he's not a vampire.” 

"Okay." Cecil sits near the edge of the shelter, cupping his hands around his eyes like binoculars and peering through the foliage. Bill goes to sleep, cuddling next to an unwoken Dipper. All is quiet. 

Cecil is pretending he can actually see outside the shelter; really, he can't see much of anything. He glances back at Bill and Dipper sleeping next to each other and smiles. 

Shuffling noises come from outside. Cecil whips around, trying to make out the source of the sound. "H-hello?" 

A clank of metal is heard, and for a moment, two small red lights appear outside the shelter. 

Cecil reaches back for a weapon, anything he could use to defend himself, but comes up with nothing. Which is just as well; he was never one for violence. "Who's there?" 

Silence. 

Cecil moves forward slightly, to try to get a better look at whatever made the noise. 

Silence. 

Cecil looks out through the branches, but sees no one; the lights that were present before are nowhere in sight. 

Click. 

Cecil makes a startled noise, and draws back into the shelter. 

There’s a bit more shuffling, it seems to be moving away. 

Cecil stays still, hardly daring to breathe. 

After a few more sounds of movement, all stays still and quiet. 

Cecil peers outside once more; but once again, sees nothing. He relaxes, letting out a breath of relief. 

Nothing else happens during the night, until he sees a figure appear as the sun rises. Cecil starts awake; he had been starting to nod off. "Who's there?" It's Bonadale. He's returning from where ever he was. Cecil sighs in relief when he recognizes the man. "Bon! Where have you been?" 

He doesn't respond and continues his way to the entrance. 

Cecil is confused. "Bon?" 

Bonadale stops. Bonadale STARES. Cecil can't even see his eyes completely through the bandages that still cover his face, but he know Bonadale is staring. 

"...Bon?" 

Bonadale keeps staring. Cecil notices he has his pack with him. 

"Bon, is everything alright?" Cecil starts to crawl out of the shelter. 

"Fine". He moves to enter the shelter. 

Cecil moves back and watches as he enters, a look of concern on his face. "Where did you go last night?" 

"Out." 

"Out where?" 

"Out." he repeats. 

Cecil hums, slightly annoyed. "You alright?" 

Bonadale nods, then puts his pack down with a thunk, and lies down. 

Cecil stares at him a moment, then sighs. He starts to pull out his broadcasting equipment, setting up an antenna branching off the main device, then fiddling with the dials, exciting a static noise from the speakers. Perhaps he could catch a signal from the Night Vale Station, perhaps some reassurance Carlos had made it home safely… Or if not safely, at least in one piece.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> K: Yay Cecil! As of now I'm playing Dip and Cecil, and rapono is Bon and Bill. Comments and feedback are appreciated!  
> Also, as this is an ongoing roleplay, it will probably take longer for the next chapter to come out, so keep that in mind!
> 
> (R: And as a bonus, here's an unseen scene from Bonadale's perspective, when he left: [HERE](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5806828))


End file.
